I got tired of LJ. That's why this is here. I don't claim to know many of the people linked below, so don't ask me personal questions about them. I just happen to like their writing. Thanks.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Rasputina: On Perilous World
The first time I experienced Rasputina was in college back when they were touring with Marilyn Manson in the late 90's. Back then I would have classified the inscrutable cello playing Victorian garb clad ladies as industrial rock even though that title didn't quite fit. They were definitely dark, mysterious and oh-so-talented. Fast forward to only a few months ago at Austin's Parish night club where I saw them perform live again after several years and I say they were more folk rock, comprised of 2 cello players and a drummer, clad in...Cowboy vs. Indians garb???? But, still just as talented and wildly dynamic.
(As a total side note, a bunch of us could not figure out what the object in Melora's updo was exactly...taper candle, large crochet hook or worn feather? Anyone know?)
Point is, Rasputina is incredibly difficult to classify but always a joy to listen to.
On Perilous World marks the 6th full length album from this group and thematically it loosely follows world events. In the words of Melora Creager, the lead:
"I wrote the songs featured on Oh Perilous World over the last two years when I realized that current world events were more bizarre than anything I could scrounge up from the distant past," she says. "I obsessively read daily news on the Internet and copied words, phrases and whole stories that especially intrigued me and compiled a vast notebook of this material."
Intriguing lyrics aside, you'll find this album full of interesting harmonies, "rant" singing, ample use of recorder, cowbell and other odd instruments along with the expected cello and drums. Over the years Melora's voice has become more solid and sweet sounding and it really contrasts well with some of the not-so-uplifting subjects she sings about.
I can tell you the first time I listened to PAIL's new CD The Lost Soundtrack I was very shocked to discover it was a home recording. This is a fantastic sounding album that's well mixed and produced professionally. The 10 songs feature adept guitar work, head-banging concert friendly tunes and soaring harmonies. Unlike many bands out there, I am happy to report that the album yields a fair representation of what the band sound like live. Furthermore, the album itself contains 2 quicktime movie videos.
If you like groups like Killing Joke, Ministry or Motorhead, you'll probably love PAIL. Frankly, if you've got any leanings towards goth rock, punk or metal, you'll enjoy these guys. I personally think the sound construction is similar Lacuna Coil with the female harmonies and they cite Filter as an influence, but frankly, Mike Titsworth has a much richer deeper vox than those two.
The lyrical content is definitely noteworthy and I'm glad they're included them the liners. Morgan and Titsworth are able to conjure interesting imagery through their words urging the listener to track back and reinterpret the possible alternate meanings. Take the song "Bitter End" for instance:
The bitter end was sweet like the fruit that fell from the trees Meat from the apple had rotten away, dusted the breeze And from this end came seeds that would later lay flowers at her feet Everything that I've heard heard about fresh start tears me apart because all my fears approach as the bitter end nears I'll tell you why Listen You wonder why I break my heart? So you won't die I wonder how a fresh start could open our eyes and make us realize Just a kiss for the kids Time waits for no one and that end was this Just a kiss to set her free from the likes of me
Before I'm 100% done with this post, let me vent a bit...
It's took me a while to write up this review because of the circumstances surrounding my experience with PAIL's release of The Last Soundtrack. Although the concert surrounding the release was entertaining, it was entertaining and energy packed for all the wrong reasons. Fortunately, that had nothing to do with the band's performance (which was darn good given what they had to work with).
DON'T EVER LET A SPANKING NEW SOUND GUY HANDLE SETUP FOR A BAND'S CD RELEASE PARTY.
There, I said it.
Now, I don't know the whole story surrounding why the usual sound guy wasn't there, but as an outsider I was definitely a little vexed. Not only is it unfair for the band, it makes the venue seem unprofessional and ill prepared, pisses off an ass load of fans and makes the musicians cranky, fucking nervous and/or livid. The release extravaganza at Elysium was on June 15th and PAIL was the headliner with two supporting acts that are in my top 10 list of Austin Bands, Chant and subNatural. which would have been a phenomenal experience. But given that sound check didn't end until 9:45pm and SubNatural was supposed to go on at 10:00, the show was delayed by a full hour. Furthermore, Chant didn't even get a sound check which baffles me given the complexity of the multiple percussion rigs. I would imagine they're not that easy to mic. This oversight led to Bradley only being able to hear a screeching loud version of himself and himself only through the right channel of his IEM, which doesn't quite work when your show is dependent on precision and the need to hear a backing track. Well shit...you can imagine tempers were flying and things were tense. The audience was right there with the musicians emotionally the whole way through though.
How did they handle all of this?
Sammi will probably give more detail at some point, but Bradley/Chant took the angry route, banging on his cans with more ferocity than ever and yelling at the sound guy to fix the levels on his IEM while still playing, SubNatural just made the best of things and eventually the lead, Ritch, went off and took matters into his own hands and usurped the sound booth. PAIL laughed things off despite the fact that the first 2 songs of the set were laden with feedback, the bass kept cutting in and out, and no one could hear Mike's vox.
I have to say though, the line "My x-girlfriend got fucked in the nose by a monkey" caught me off guard while he yammered with the audience. We all got fucked in the nose, so to speak, but you know these are seasoned performers when they can take a bad situation and turn it into something memorable.
This post about subNatural (a new favorite band of mine in the Austin goth scene), was initially going to be merely a CD review and then I had the wonderful opportunity of catching these guys live with co-writer Sammi at Elysium a few weeks ago. I have to say, it was a fucking amazing concert.
Front man and songwriter, RitchN, is a beguiling inscrutable creature. From his myspace are these words:
I wake up and find myself wanting to work on music before I eat... and a glance at his blog indicates someone who is completely and utterly dedicated to music in every which way possible.
Sky from the group Hipnautica once said of Ritch "He has got to be one of the most prolific musicians I have ever met," which doesn't surprise me one bit considering Ritch has admitted to having hours upon hours of unfinished songs sitting on his hard drive, has collaborated with multiple musicians in Austin and shared the stage with artists around the world.
On stage he's a ball of energy residing behind dark glasses, eyeliner and shaggy blonde hair belting out meaningful lyrics with his deep voice. Spoken word/rant pieces are done with eerie intensity and gets one's heart racing as he plots on (think of the through every forest, above the trees. Within my stomach, scraped off my knees.... part in "Closer" when Trent does this). Bookended by his equally competent and talented band mates, bassist Nick Grubbs, guitarist Stephen Van Pelt, keyboardist Jim Dub and the phenomenal Riggz Wade on drums (perhaps one of the best drummers in Austin, to be honest), subNatural as a whole makes a mighty fine looking rock group. Collectively, they make one's adrenaline levels go off the charts and the music itself is just darn good---no two songs on the set list I heard sounded alike and these guys command the attention of everyone in the room. Apparently, they won the last "Battle of the Bands" competition at the Red Eye Fly even though the site hasn't been updated yet.
Aggressive, visceral and yet emotive is how I describe these guys on stage. The sheer energy alone that these guys exude is enough reason to experience them live. They're on the harder side of electronica yet still very lyrical and accessible. I normally describe them as the harder meaner version of CTRL. Check em out.
